SAFE HABITATIONS by BILL BURNS
The signs of the end of the age are all around us, and they tell us that we are indeed living in perilous times.
2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
Our safe habitation in the last days is revealed in:
Revelation 12:13-14 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
For the Church at the end of the age, Goshen represents a spiritual habitation that is established for each one of us by obedience, faithfulness, and faith. This spiritual habitation, according to the pattern in scripture, is one of God’s provision and protection.
Spiritual Goshen is a place that is close to God. Goshen means “drawing near.”
James 4:7-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Goshen is a secret place.
Psalm 91:
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
Secret place – a place covered, a shelter, and a hidden place of protection.
The Secret Place is what Jesus was talking about in:
Matthew 6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Small Straws: If you will diligently and urgently seek My face with all your heart instead of only looking for me to manifest outwardly, I will release you into a place of freedom and rest. This inward connection is where faith is born; it is the place where prayer is answered. Come and commune with Me in the secret place, which is even hidden from all trouble and stress. Come into My rest, says the Lord, and let Me establish you in peace and joy.
The Hidden Place
The Secret Place is a hidden place – hidden from the world and Satan. We can abide in the hidden place, a place of safety when judgment comes.
Isaiah 26:20-21 Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the LORD comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain.
Hide yourself in the secret place of God’s habitation.
In 1 Kings 17 the LORD told Elijah to hide in a time of judgment.
1 Kings 17:
1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
2 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
4 “And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
The hidden place is within.
1 Peter 3:4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory.
Wisdom is hidden in Christ who dwells in the secret place with us.
Colossians 2:2-3 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
The Benefits
1. It is a place of provision
2. It is a place of protection
3. It is the secret place that the world and the devil cannot enter
4. It is the hidden place where we are protected from God’s judgment
5. It is a place of wisdom—wisdom that will help us navigate these last days
Knowing these give things, why would we not establish Goshen, and why would we not find the secret place?
We should do these things because the end of the age is upon us!